Ultimate Fighting Championship, Vol. 18: The Road to the Heavyweight Title

Ultimate Fighting Championship, Vol. 18: The Road to the Heavyweight Title | Stephen Collins, Catherine Hicks | Great Video

vhs video:

Ultimate Fighting ...

	Ultimate Fighting Championship, Vol. 18: The Road to the Heavyweight Title Stephen Collins, Catherine Hicks Vidmark / Trimark, 2001 average customer review:based on 4 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

BAS!

this tape is worth buying for several reasons. the most important one is the true nhb debut of bas rutten. i know bas personally and he is an awesome guy, but he is even more awesome inside the cage. also worth seeing is tito's shirt following his destruction of bohlander. miletich delivers another snoozer but that's what is to be expected from him. would be better if they hadn't cut burnette's fight, but still overall very good.

Great Video

This is one of the greatest ufcs ever. Evan Tanner makes a good performance in the first bout. Then tito ortiz shows why he is pound for pound one of the best fighters with his total beatdown of jerry bolander. The pat miletich fight was the only boring one even though he was the aggressor. The coleman rizzo fight was good with what i thought was a bad final desicion though. And the main event bas rutten destroys kosaka in a all out slugfest. I deffinity reccomend this video

for more information click here

Rutten delivers!

Many fighters are hyped, but not to the extent Bas Rutten was leading up to UFC XVIII. Once it was known Rutten was signed to fight for the UFC, the press went crazy touting him as the next champion. Bas had been a former King of Pancrase and exceptional kickboxer. His legend was known, but he had never stepped in a true "NHB" fight. Rutten would not only steal the show, but do it in great fashion.

UFC XVIII. "Road to the Heavyweight Championship", would have 2 heavyweight elimination fights, with the winners facing each other in a future show to determine the next UFC champion. But 4 other fights also were on tap. First off was Evan Tanner against Darrell Gholar, each being their first time in the Octagon. A good fight, with an exciting ending. Next up was Mikey Burnett versus Towsend Saunders. Each man had lost to current champ Pat Miletich via close decisions. This fight would be a good one, going the distance. The third would pit Lions Den fighter Jerry Bohlander against Tito Ortiz. Bohlander was considered the 2nd best middleweight in the UFC next to Frank Shamrock. His confidence was high considering he was fighting Tito Ortiz in this "tune-up". Ortiz wasn't what Bohlander had in mind, he had dumped Tank Abbott, and sought out better fighting partners since his initial UFC performance. A solid fight with a clear dominate winner. Pat Miletich would defend his lightweight title against the aggresive Brazilian Jorge Patino. Miletich was criticized for fighting boring in previous fights. He indeed is a patient fighter, but a good one at that. Jorge Patino was known in Brazil as "Macaco"(monkey). His fights with Jose "Pele" Landi are classics, and brutal(Patino once ripped the earring off Pele's ear in a fight!). So this WAS to be the fight we would see a more aggressive Miletich fight. For some reason Patino decided to walk away and play counter--the Whole fight. Two counter fighters=boring! Once again Miletich was involved in a "snoozer", but to his credit he was the aggressor and refused to fight on the ground. He was just unlucky this go around.

The heavyweights were ready, first we would see former champ, Mark Coleman battle Pedro Rizzo. Coleman was back after back-to -back defeats. His fighting career turned sour since losing to Maurice Smith in 97. He blew out his knee, then his initial return to the Octagon resulted in a TKO by Pete Williams. This time he was back with Ken Shamrock by his side to regain his past glory. Rizzo earned this fight with his spectacular trouncing of "Tank" Abbott. The stage was set, the outcome would be a close and controversial one. The fight everyone was waiting for was last, Bas Rutten versus Tsyoshi Kosaka. Rutten was ready and focused, and the fight would go Kosaka's way until......Boom, Boom, ..fight over!!

He did indeed live up to all the hype!

for more information click here

Road to the Heavyweight Title

January 8, 1999
Pontchartrain Cente
New Orleans, Louisiana

This was to be the night of the UFC heavyweight and there are some solid heavyweight matchups on this fight card.

Darrell Gholar vs. Evan Tanner:
This is Tanner's debut in the UFC. He shows good skills on which he would build upon over his years fighting in the UFC. He attempts a triangle choke early on in the fight. He is slammed down HARD for his troubles, but he soon overwhelms Gholar with knees and strikes. The fight ends by submission.

Jeff Bohlander v. Tito Ortiz:
This is where Ortiz begins picking-off Lion's Den fighters. He overwhelms Bohlander and is dominant throughout regulation and overtime. The fight is eventually stopped due to a cut.

Pedro "The Rock" Rizzo vs. Mark "The Hammer" Coleman:
This fight should have been a lot better than it was. Rizzo did not effectively utilize his striking skills, nor did Coleman effectively utilize his grappling abilities. The fight goes the distance and goes to the judges' cards. Don't get me wrong, the fight is not dull, it's simply not as good as it should have been, given the two combatants involved.

Jorge Patino vs. Pat Miletich:
This one is a standing battle. There are some exciting moments, but the fight also receives some boos from the crowd for periods of inactivity. It goes to a decision for the championship.

Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs. Bas Rutten:
Rutton makes his well-publicized debut in the UFC. He had not suffered a loss in a 3-year period and his striking abilities were highly-touted coming from a Pancrase background. This turns out to be a greuling battle for the upper hand. Kohsaka, if either, seems to have a slight advantage going into the final round. It goes down to the final seconds of the fight before one man come out blazing with a flurry that ends it all.

This fight helps to setup the title fight that tales place a few UFC events later. This was an exciting time in the history of the UFC heavyweight division. This is a solid event, certainly worth owning.

for more information click here

products you might be interested in

recommendations

UFC NOT ON DVD